Initially called to remove a person who would have fallen in a gutter near the Beau-Bassin metro station, in the end it was a dog that was found there. According to some people, this animal has been in the gutter for a week. Last week, another animal was saved in the same situation. Residents deplore the insecurity of this 500-meter long gutter, which is not covered. Is it necessary that there is a human death for the authorities to react, they wonder.
It is 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday morning, October 20, when the sirens of three firefighters’ vehicles are sounding on the Route Royale in Beau-Bassin. At high speed, these vehicles made their way to the Beau-Bassin police station. A police officer was questioned about a man who had fallen into a gutter. The police officer said he was not aware of this and asked the firemen to go to the police station. At the same time, Inspector Jeewon, who was coming out of the parking lot, was informed of this request. “No such request was received,” he said. With these firemen, he goes to the subway track not far from this police station some 500 meters away.
An individual calls out to them about a dog that has been in this gutter for a week. Given the choice, Lead Fire Fighter, Samad Bundhoo, is going to lead this rescue operation with the men of the Special Operation Division (SOD) of the Coromandel fire station. This animal also has the right to be rescued. In a quarter of an hour, these men of the Mauritius Fire and Rescue Service will deploy all their efforts, go down in this gutter, put the animal in confidence until it is caught with a capture lasso and removed from this place.
The operation of these firefighters was welcomed by passers-by. However, they deplore that the authorities have not reacted so far to the many incidents in this place. It is high time, they say, that this gutter is covered with slaps before there is a human death or a serious accident. If this dog is still alive, says a local resident, it is thanks to a little water in this gutter and passers-by who feed it with a piece of bread or something else.
